The Impacts of Concrete on pH and Calcium Concentration in Houston’s Bayous

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dc.contributor.advisorTorres, Marken_US
dc.creatorHale, Meaganen_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-05-17T15:25:39Zen_US
dc.date.available2021-05-17T15:25:39Zen_US
dc.date.issued2021-05en_US
dc.description.abstractAs the human population grows, so does the percentage of people living in urban areas. This means that an increasing amount of landmass must be used for urban infrastructure and housing to accommodate a greater number of people. The environmental impacts of urbanization are not completely understood. However, one important aspect that may be impacted is water quality. For instance, the concrete used to construct water transport and drainage systems can leach Ca2+ions into urban rivers and increase water pH. These changes are of concern because pH range is a major factor in determining the toxicity and bioavailability of chemical compounds. Additionally, many aquatic microorganisms can only thrive within certain ranges of pH and Ca concentrations. To investigate how the concrete used in urban infrastructure impacts water quality, I studied two major rivers in Houston, TX, USA. The first, White Oak Bayou, is lined with concrete; the second, Buffalo Bayou, has a natural river bottom. These two rivers were compared with the non-urban but still geographically similar Trinity River, since river chemistry may be affected by the presence of concrete anywhere within a river’s watershed. I collected water samples from Buffalo and White Oak bayous and analyzed their major anions and cations using ion chromatography (IC) and inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods, respectively. In addition, I analyzed roughly 50 years’ worth of public water quality data for each bayou and the Trinity River. The data suggest that the concrete-lined White Oak Bayou has a higher Ca concentration and pH value than Buffalo Bayou. The results of this research expand our knowledge of the environmental impacts of water transport and drainage systems.en_US
dc.format.extent37 ppen_US
dc.identifier.citationHale, Meagan. "The Impacts of Concrete on pH and Calcium Concentration in Houston’s Bayous." Undergraduate thesis, Rice University, 2021. https://doi.org/10.25611/AJFV-J556.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.25611/AJFV-J556en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/110604en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherRice Universityen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by author.en_US
dc.rights.uriThis item is shared under a Creative Commons License- Attribution (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/en_US
dc.subjectenvironmental scienceen_US
dc.subjectgeochemistryen_US
dc.subjectwater qualityen_US
dc.subjecturban geochemistryen_US
dc.subjectsurface wateren_US
dc.titleThe Impacts of Concrete on pH and Calcium Concentration in Houston’s Bayousen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
thesis.degree.departmentEarth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineNatural Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelUndergraduateen_US
thesis.degree.nameSenior Thesisen_US
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